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POLAND 

PAST AND PRESENT 




Address by 



I. J. PADEREWSKI 



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ADDRESS 



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ISJf PADEREWSKI 



Delivered at the Polish Benefit 
Concert, Sunday Afternoon, 
February Fifth, 1916, at the 
Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois 



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Address bv I. J. PADEREWSKI 

DELIVERED AT THE POLISH BENEFIT CONCERT. SUNDAY AFTERNOON. 
FEBK.UARY Sth. 1916. AT THE AUDITORIUM. CHICAGO. ILLINOIS 



Ladies and Gentlemen: 

I HAVE to speak about a country 
which is not yours, in a language 
which is not mine. Though deeply 
appreciating the privilege, the 
honor of addressing such a large 
and distinguished audience, I fully realize 
that my task is arduous in the extreme, the 
object of my address being unfamiliar to 
you, and my means of expression so very 
limited. But I sincerely hope and trust that 
the kindness and leniency of the listeners 
will make good for all the shortcomings of 
my defective oratory. 

To quote, however briefly, all the note- 
worthy facts of ten eventful centuries which 
built the glorious monument of Poland's 
tragic history would be beyond my power 
and beyond your patience. I can only point 
out some features, some characteristics, and 
I must not indulge in a narrative length, as 
I have later on still another important duty 
to perform. 

Far from pretending that the Polish nation 



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was made up of angels, I willingly admit 
that my compatriots, though exceptionally 
richly endowed, full of imagination, la- 
borious, brave, chivalrous, kind-hearted, 
broad-minded, were and naturally still are 
extremely temperamental, excessively emo- 
tional, and consequently subject to passion, 
to errors. A great many mistakes have been 
committed. But there flows throughout our 
whole history a stream of humanity, of gen- 
erosity, of tolerance, so broad, so powerful 
and so pure that it would be vain indeed to 
look for a similar one in the past of any 
other European country. 

Ever since the beginning of her political 
existence, Poland has been a safe refuge for 
all oppressed people, a comfortable shelter 
for all persecuted religions and opinions. 
We kept our doors wide open to everyone. 
The persecuted Jews came to Poland from 
Germany in the eleventh century, and the 
first charter granting them the right of in- 
habiting Polish cities was issued by our King 
Ladislaus Herman from the city of Kalisch 
in 1096. Since then all nations, all confes- 
sions, were pouring into our country and all 
of them found in our midst lawful protec- 
tion and free exercise of their creeds. Until 
the present war there were still in Poland, 
especially in southern Poland, many of 
those ancient Arian churches, many of those 
old Jewish temples erected as far back as 





1 






the thirteenth and even the twelfth century. 
There has never been, and I cannot em- 
phasize it strongly enough, there has never 
been a race, a creed, or even a language 
persecuted under our Polish rule. Accord- 
ing to some people's opinion, it may have 
been one of our political errors, but it is our 
pride, and I think nobody can deny it, that it / 
is legitimate pride. ^ 

Poland's greatest misfortune was her geo- 
graphical situation. At the extreme Euro- 
pean end, with no natural boundary between 
her and the turbulent East, Poland was 
predestined to be always the first to receive 
the shocks of Tartar, Mongolian and Turk- 
ish invasions. And there were many of these 
invasions. From the beginning of the thir- 
teenth century, five hundred years of our 
existence were filled with these terrific 
shocks. 

It was in defence of Christianity that our 
youthful King, Ladislaus III, twenty years 
old, implored by John Palaologue, Byzan- 
tine emperor, went to his rescue and lost 
his life in the battle of Varna, in 1444. 

It was again in the defense of Christianity, 
of civilization, that our King, John Sobieski, 
by saving Vienna in 1683, inflicted a de- 
cisive, crushing blow upon the aggressive 
power of the Ottoman Empire. Polish 
blood saved Christianity, Polish bravery 



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saved Western Europe from an inevitable 
invasion, from inevitable destruction. 

Oh, happy Western European countries! 
They could more or less normally attend to 
their affairs, develop their trade, their in- 
dustries, gather riches; they could devote 
themselves to science, to art, enjoy luxuries 
of life, because between them and the real 
danger, constantly menacing, there stood a 
permanent wall, protecting their prosperity ; 
and that permanent wall was made of Polish 
noblemen's chests. 

After centuries of continuous compulsory 
warring, which was almost exclusively done 
by noblemen, by volunteers, when exhausted 
Poland tried to recuperate, to recover 
strength, to re-organize herself; it was too 
late. 

All the remarkable reforms inaugurated by 
our wonderfully gifted last king, . Stanislaus 
Poniatowski, were practically introduced in 
spite of the Russian, Prussian and Austrian 
regular troops already occupying our terri- 
tory. Nevertheless, within a few years, a 
complete, most humane, judicial reform took 
place. A perfect scholar system, with a 
ministry for public education, the first minis- 
try of its kind in the whole civilized world, 
was established. A small permanent army, 
alas, much too late, was started. A gradual 
emancipation of peasants, an abolition of 





^ 




serfdom, had begun. Some of these reforms 
preceded by twenty-five years the analogical 
reforms of the great French revolution. 
The majority of them were many years in 
advance of the neighboring countrie$, which 
naturally regarded them as a direct menace 
to their old-fashioned feudal institutions. 
All these reforms could but precipitate our 
downfall. The first partition occurred in 
1772, shortly after these reforms had been 
introduced; the second and third partitions 
followed very closely our memorable con- 
stitution of 1791. Thus the greatest crime 
of modern history was perpetrated. Poland 
had fallen. 

Official and officious historians of nations 
and governments, not precisely disinter- 
ested in the case, have been and still are 
writing profusely about Poland's inability 
to govern herself, about our dissensions, 
about our anarchy. This distinctly immoral 
work of poisoning public opinion has been 
done for so long, so thoroughly and so 
effectively, that even a few of our own 
writers, brought up in Poland, but in 
foreign language and in foreign spirit, 
adopted the monstrous idea that our coun- 
try's downfall was solely due to the people's 
own fault. 

Dissensions, anarchy, inability of governing 
ourselves ! How do these things look in the 





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light of positive historical facts? Our Stat- 
ute of Wislica, established in 1347, was 
chronologically the first complete code of 
Christian Europe. In 1413, Poland con- 
cluded a political union with Lithuania. 
This act of free union proclaiming for the 
first time in history the brotherhood of 
nations, this act of union confirmed by a 
document of sublime, almost evangelical 
beauty, this act of free union of two differ- 
ent races, which lasted undisturbed till the 
very end of our independence, is one of 
the most glorious achievements not only of 
Poland, but of humanity. 

Already in the fifteenth century a self- 
governing country, Poland became, in 1573, 
a regular republic, with kings elected for 
life, as presidents. In 1430, consequently 
259 years before the Habeas Corpus of Eng- 
land, and 359 years before the declaration 
of Human Rights in France, Poland estab- 
lished her famous law: "Neminem captiva- 
bimus, nisi iure victum.", which, translated 
into English, means, "Nobody should be de- 
tained unless legally convicted." 

Our broad, liberal constitution of 1791 pre- 
ceded by 57 years the constitution of Ger- 
many and of Austria, and by 114 years the 
so-called constitution of Russia. And all 
these momentous reforms, all these radical 
changes, imlike other countries, were accom- 



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plished without revolution, without any 
bloodshed, without the loss of one single hu- 
man life ; by unanimous vote, in a quiet, most 
peaceful, most dignified way. Does it prove 
our dissensions; does it prove our anarchy; 
does it prove our inability of governing 
ourselves ? 

Poland fell because her neighbors were 
greedy, unscrupulous and strong! Poland 
fell because she was generous, humane and 
weak! \ Poland fell, to tell you the truth, 
because she had no permanent army to 
defend her possessions. But, do not think 
that Poland fell alone! With the Polish 
republic fell also the honor of three mon- 
archies. With our independence fell also 
the apathetic conscience of civilized Europe. 
They will not rise, they will not cleanse 
themselves, until our freedom is restored 
again. 

For the greatest part of her history Poland 
has been either invaded or defending Euro- 
pean frontiers. Considering such abnormal 
circumstances, it is really astonishing how 
intense, how important has been her in- 
tellectual and artistic life. Besides many 
great warriors, many distinguished states- 
men, many brilliant orators, Poland pro- 
duced scientists, mathematicians, musicians, 
artists, poets, authors, navigators, discover- 
ers, philosophers, some of whom acquired 










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world wide fame. Our old University of 
Cracow, founded in 1364, before the Uni- 
versity of Vienna, before that of Leipzig, 
300 years before that of Berlin, and over 
400 years before that of Petrograd, our old 
University of Cracow was already attract- 
ing, in the fifteenth century, a great many 
students from Germany, Hungary, Den- 
mark, Sweden, and even from Italy. The 
great mathematician and astronomer, Albert 
Brudzewski, was the principal magnet of 
the celebrated academy; and our Nicholas 
Copernicus, the greatest astronomer of all 
times, was his most illustrious pupil. 

There were many distinguished poets in old 
Poland, who expressed themselves in Latin 
or in the Polish language. Personally, I 
esteem that the most remarkable achieve- 
ments of Poland's creative, versatile genius 
are to be found in her school of music in the 
16th and in the 17th centuries. Composers 
were numerous, all marvelously gifted, some 
of them contemporaries of Palestrina not at 
all inferior to him. The compositions by 
Gorczycki, by Szamotulski, Gomolka, by 
Zielenski, are still to be classed among the 
masterpieces of sacred music of all times. 

But the most amazing proof of the ex- 
traordinary vitality of our race is the revival 
of Polish literature, especially poetry, after 
the last war for independence in 1831. In 





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many countries, as history so graphically 
demonstrates, the highest development of 
literature, of poetry, of art, occurred when 
the climax of political and economical pros- 
perity was reached. In modern Poland we 
see just the opposite. After a disastrous, 
crushing defeat of 1831, those who were not 
caught, executed, or sent to Siberia, fled in 
great numbers, thousands of them to the 
Western countries, mostly to France. And 
there, on strange soil, almost out of the ranks 
of defeated heroes, dozens of poets came 
forward, dozens of inspired poets arose, and 
raised their voices to sing the greatness and 
immortal glory of the fallen country, to 
express, in the language of unsurpassable 
beauty, their unshaken hope, their unwaver- 
ing faith in a better future ; to clamor desper- 
ately — to clamor not for a petty revenge, 
but for universal justice. Any nation could 
envy Poland for her poets. Mickiewicz 
stands alone. Krasinski and Slowacki are 
equal to any poet; inferior to none. Out- 
side of Poland very few only know their 
master works. Those lofty thoughts, those 
mighty images, those prophetic visions, those 
pure and noble aspirations are cast into 
Polish words ; and who would care now, who 
would take the trouble to learn the language 
of a country that has no army, no navy, no 
finance, no trade, no railways of her own? 
But it was given to a Polish poet to reveal 








3 [ 



the genius of our race, to express in an ac- 
cessible way our pain and joy, our doubt 
and faith, our loss and hope; it was given 
to a Polish poet to carry far into the wide 
world the immortal message of beauty from 
his mother country, to reach every land, al- 
most every home, almost every heart. This 
poet was Chopin, and you know him well. 

The vivid sources of the nation's genius, are 
far from drying up. In recent years Poland 
produced many gifted poets, remarkable 
scientists, distinguished, eminent historians, 
great novelists — the most illustrious of them 
being, of course, Henryk Sienkiewicz. We 
have admirable painters, most talented sculp- 
tors; we have celebrated singers; we have 
renowned musicians. Many a Polish woman 
distinguished herself in poetry, in art, in 
science, even on the battlefield. The name 
of Madame Curie Sklodowska acquired uni- 
versal fame. Everybody more or less ac- 
quainted with music in this country knows 
and admires Madame Sembrich. And, last 
but not least, let us not forget the great, in- 
comparable artist, the beautiful and noble 
woman whose name is so closely associated 
with the history of dramatic art in America, 
who lived and died in this country, Madame 
Modjeska. 



What is Poland now? At the present mo- 



3 







ment Poland is to a degree only a memory. 
It is a vast desert, an immense ruin, a colos- 
sal cemetery. Posen, the ancient, Danzig, 
the wealthy, Cracow, the beautiful, are still 
there. Warsaw, Lemberg, Lublin and 
Vilno, according to newspaper reports, have 
been but little damaged. Only precious 
works of art, most valuable documents, 
books and manuscripts, all the priceless 
proofs of our ancient, thousand years old 
culture, have been confiscated, as the opera- 
tion is diplomatically called when it is per- 
formed by an overwhelming collective force. 

Several large cities have been spared, pre- 
served, for the comfort of our uninvited 
guests. But, on the tremendous battle front, 
extending from the Baltic Sea to the south- 
ern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, the 
whole of Russian, almost the whole of Aus- 
trian, and even a portion of Prussian Poland, 
have been totally ruined. Three hundred 
towns, two thousand churches, twenty 
thousand villages are no more. An area 
equal in size to the states of Illinois, Penn- 
sylvania, New York and Maine together 
has been laid waste. For, what could 
remain of a country where in many districts 
those huge armies of millions of men were 
moving continuously forwards and back- 
wards for eighteen months? Eighteen 
months of continuous fighting; eighteen 
months of incessant danger; eighteen months 






% 




of uninterrupted anguish and pain, imposed 
upon an entirely innocent nation! Millions 
of homeless peasants, of unemployed work- 
men, of humble Jewish shopkeepers, have 
been driven into the open. Millions of be- 
reaved parents, of breadless, helpless widows 
and orphans are still wandering about in the 
desolated land, hiding in woods or in hol- 
lows, happy if they find an abandoned trench 
and in that trench, next to the body of a 
fallen fighter, some decaying remnants of 
soldier's food. Out of the armies of 
2,500,000 men, 2,500,000 soldiers, native 
born, Polish speaking soldiers, 600,000 in 
Prussia, 600,000 in Austria, and 1,300,000 
in Russia, of all these armies not one-fourth 
remains. Compelled to fight brother 
against brother, always in the first row, 
always falling the first, without profit and 
without glory, three-fourths of our youth, 
the nation's very hope and love, have been 
killed or wounded, and the fate of the re- 
mainder is already sealed. How many 
civilians, noncombatants, perished in this 
calamity, nobody could state precisely. The 
country, the granary of Europe, as it used 
to be called in ancient times, is totally 
wrecked. The material losses are far in 
excess of ten billion dollars. Millions of 
horses, millions of cattle have been taken 
or slaughtered^ Two consecutive crops 
have been confiscated, — excuse me for 



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using that word again, — or burned. What 
is left for the people? Not even the chiU 
dren — all the little ones under seven years 
of age are gone. Several large districts 
already died out completely of cold, expo- 
sure, of hunger. Our entire nation is 
threatened with extinction through starva- 
tion. And, if the help does not come 
promptly, if the generosity of the only 
great people who could lend us assistance 
fails to respond, there will soon be nothing 
left, nothing but foreign warriors on Polish 
soil. 

Those who were looking for some sensa- 
tional statement, who expected me to make 
some drastic reports of cruelties, of atroci- 
ties, will be, of course, disappointed. I will 
accuse nobody; I will make no complaints 
against any of the belligerents. We have 
been treated according to the logic of war, 
which is in itself a cruelty, an atrocity now- 
adays multiplied by science. 

I am performing a difficult, painful, even y 
humiliating, but sacred duty. I am endea- 
voring to arouse some interest in the fate of 
my people, who in this war suffered most 
of all. Faithful to Poland's tradition, true 
to the spirit of our ancestors, I am not seek- ( 
ing assistance for those of my blood only \ 
or of my religion, but for all, without any / 
distinction of race, of creed, or of opinion, | 



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for all who are sharing in common my coun- 
try's unspeakable misfortime. 

My errand is not of hatred, but of love. I 
do not intend to excite passion but to 
awake compassion. If I have succeeded, 
pray speak about Poland to your kind, 
good friends. Tell them that far away 
from your prosperous, opulent, happy 
country there are great people in great 
poverty, in great need, suffering beyond the 
limits of human endurance. Tell them that 
these very people in the days of your need 
sent you Kosciuszko, offered you Pulaski, 
and not for the pleasure of fighting the 
English, but for the noble joy of contribut- 
ing to the glorious conquest of human lib- 
erty. Some one may be convinced by your 
arguments, touched by your words, moved 
by your voice ; some one may try to help us. 
God will bless him as he will bless you. 




COPYRIGHT 1916. ANNA M. LAISE PHILLIPS. ORDERS RECEIVED THROUGH 
POLISH VICTIMS* RELIEF FUND. AEOLIAN BUILDING. NEW YORK. 




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